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Monday, February 16, 2015

Interactive Friction: Far Cry 3: Episode 15: The Worst Part of the Game

This episode is the beginning of the end of Far Cry 3. In a related note, it is also the WORST part of Far Cry 3.

Sam made a very interesting point in this episode. If all we needed to do was to just steal a uniform, it would be simple to just shiv the guy at the entrance, then dispose of the body. We would have absolutely no need to sneak into the heart of the base. Everything after we got passed that first guard was a complete waste of time.

I mean, technically we also obtained the information that some guards in the evil drug and human trafficking organization are morally bankrupt and funneling money from under their boss's nose. However, we would have no indication that we could get such information before we were pulled aside by the guard.

And another thing that I didn't think about when recording the episode, why would the guard pull us over in particular? What about us would single us out as particular corrupt enough to join him? Did he have a relationship with the person we stole the uniform from? If so, how did he not know he weren't that guy and what are the odds we would get that guy's particular uniform? That in and of itself is an unlikely series of contrivances. On top of the fact that Hoyt is here and we just happen to say "Oh, I dunno. Let's sneak in for no reason." makes this section just the most painfully stupid piece of writing in this game.

Speaking of Hoyt, dear god this is dumb. We talked about it at length in the episode, but I cannot possibly emphasize enough exactly how stupid it is that Hoyt doesn't get stabbed. Again, the plot should have been over well before this, but this really underscores how much this second section of the game is pointless filler. (For the record, our first chance to kill Hoyt occurred in episode 7.)

So, in summery, the sheer staggeringly-massive amount of contrivances is so high and the random chance that all of these factors would fall so nicely into place is so low that, even without the inclusion of Hoyt in that section, this mission does not make sense. It stretches plausibility so much that Jason would have to forge a contract with the Old Gods in order for me to believe it.